Look For Clear Oct. Skies, Venus After Sunset

Skylights

October is the least cloudy month of the year for the eastern United States. According to the National Climatic Center, we have at least a 50 percent chance of clear skies.

Ursa Major, best known by the bright stars of the Big Dipper, is low in the north. It brings to mind a timely Native American tale about the Great Bear.

The handle stars in the Dipper are said to be three braves sent to hunt a bear that was stalking a village. They follow the bear for nearly a year, finding a secret path up into the "sky country." Just as the bear leaps into his den for the coming winter, an arrow strikes him in his well-padded behind.

The story goes on to say that a few drops of blood from the wound drip down onto the earth and stain the leaves a red color. The braves must then wait until spring for the bear to emerge, and the chase begins all over again.

Mercury has been visible in the morning sky in late September, but the speedy planet doesn't stay around for long. By Oct. 13 it is roughly in line with the Sun and can't be seen.

Venus is becoming a familiar sight these days. She brightens to a magnitude of minus 4.3 by the end of October. Find it low in the west, setting about an hour and a half after the Sun. The crescent Moon passes by it on Oct. 4 and 5. On Oct. 19, Venus is centered between Mars and its rival, the red star Antares. It passes 2 degrees below Mars on the 26th.

Mars is difficult to see during this period as the Sun gains on the red planet. Binoculars might help you locate it low in the southwest during twilight. It will be a faint reddish object above and to the left of the Moon on Oct. 5, and 3 degrees north of Antares on the 11th. It moves from the constellation Scorpius into Ophiuchus this month.

After Venus sets, Jupiter is the easiest planet to view this fall. It is the brightest object in the southeast soon after sunset. The giant of the planets sets well after midnight. Find the Moon nearby Jupiter on the 10th and 11th.

The ringed planet is also well-placed for viewing this fall. Slow-moving Saturn is still in Pisces and rises in the east near sunset. On Oct. 10 it reaches a point opposite the Sun. This "opposition" means it rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. The Moon closes in on it the evening of Oct. 15. Observers with telescopes can now see the southern face of the rings tilted toward us by about 10 degrees.

Pieces of Halley's comet, which passed by us 12 years ago, will light up our skies on a few nights around Oct. 21-22. This is the Orionid meteor shower, since the particles seem to come out of the constellation Orion. Look for them late in the evening before the Moon rises. These particles range from sand- to pebble-sized rocks. They plow into the Earth's atmosphere at about 40 miles per second, or nearly 144,000 miles per hour. Most burn up before they can hit the surface. Still, they make for some interesting natural fireworks. With clear and dark skies, you can expect to see around 10 to 20 meteors each hour.

We return to Eastern Standard Time on Oct. 26. Turn your clocks back one hour.